vorwärtskommen — German conjugation
to come forward
Indicative
Present (Präsens) Irregular
Präsens is the default present for facts, habits, and near-future plans. German has no continuous aspect in the same way as English, so a single form often covers both “I work” and “I am working” when you add a time adverb or context.
Ich arbeite heute im Homeoffice.
| Pronoun | German | English |
|---|---|---|
| ich | komme vorwärts | I come forward |
| du | kommst vorwärts | you come forward |
| er/sie/es | kommt vorwärts | he/she/it comes forward |
| wir | kommen vorwärts | we come forward |
| ihr | kommt vorwärts | you (pl.) come forward |
| sie/Sie | kommen vorwärts | they come forward |
Simple past (Präteritum) Irregular
Präteritum is a narrative past, common in print and in northern speech, while southern speakers lean on the perfect in conversation. sein and haben keep their Präteritum even when you otherwise avoid the preterite.
Er war müde, aber er hatte keinen Kaffee mehr.
| Pronoun | German | English |
|---|---|---|
| ich | kam vorwärts | I came forward |
| du | kamst vorwärts | you came forward |
| er/sie/es | kam vorwärts | he/she/it came forward |
| wir | kamen vorwärts | we came forward |
| ihr | kamt vorwärts | you (pl.) came forward |
| sie/Sie | kamen vorwärts | they came forward |
Present perfect (Perfekt) Irregular
The Perfekt is the everyday past for finished events: auxiliary haben or sein plus participle, with sein for most motion, coming/going, and some change-of-state verbs.
Wir sind rechtzeitig angekommen und haben gefeiert.
| Pronoun | German | English |
|---|---|---|
| ich | bin vorwärtsgekommen | I have come forward |
| du | bist vorwärtsgekommen | you have come forward |
| er/sie/es | ist vorwärtsgekommen | he/she/it has come forward |
| wir | sind vorwärtsgekommen | we have come forward |
| ihr | seid vorwärtsgekommen | you (pl.) have come forward |
| sie/Sie | sind vorwärtsgekommen | they have come forward |
Pluperfect (Plusquamperfekt) Irregular
The Plusquamperfekt is the pluperfect: it marks what had already completed before a later past episode in the same narrative.
Sie war schon gegangen, bevor er ankam.
| Pronoun | German | English |
|---|---|---|
| ich | war vorwärtsgekommen | I had come forward |
| du | warst vorwärtsgekommen | you had come forward |
| er/sie/es | war vorwärtsgekommen | he/she/it had come forward |
| wir | waren vorwärtsgekommen | we had come forward |
| ihr | wart vorwärtsgekommen | you (pl.) had come forward |
| sie/Sie | waren vorwärtsgekommen | they had come forward |
Future I (Futur I) Irregular
Futur I is for predictions, firm promises, and also probability about the present in colloquial German. Everyday speech very often uses Präsens plus a time expression instead.
Morgen schneit es, sagt der Wetterbericht.
| Pronoun | German | English |
|---|---|---|
| ich | werde vorwärtskommen | I will come forward |
| du | wirst vorwärtskommen | you will come forward |
| er/sie/es | wird vorwärtskommen | he/she/it will come forward |
| wir | werden vorwärtskommen | we will come forward |
| ihr | werdet vorwärtskommen | you (pl.) will come forward |
| sie/Sie | werden vorwärtskommen | they will come forward |
Future II (Futur II) Irregular
Futur II (werden + participle + haben/sein) names an action that will be completed before a later time, and can also express a guess that something must already have happened.
Bis Freitag werde ich alles gepackt haben.
| Pronoun | German | English |
|---|---|---|
| ich | werde vorwärtsgekommen sein | I will have come forward |
| du | wirst vorwärtsgekommen sein | you will have come forward |
| er/sie/es | wird vorwärtsgekommen sein | he/she/it will have come forward |
| wir | werden vorwärtsgekommen sein | we will have come forward |
| ihr | werdet vorwärtsgekommen sein | you (pl.) will have come forward |
| sie/Sie | werden vorwärtsgekommen sein | they will have come forward |
Subjunctive
Subjunctive II (Konjunktiv II) Irregular
Konjunktiv II is the mood for politeness, contrary-to-fact if-clauses, and reported views. In speech, würde + infinitive often stands in for rarer preterit-based forms.
Könnten Sie mir bitte helfen?
| Pronoun | German |
|---|---|
| ich | käme vorwärts |
| du | kämest vorwärts |
| er/sie/es | käme vorwärts |
| wir | kämen vorwärts |
| ihr | kämet vorwärts |
| sie/Sie | kämen vorwärts |
Other forms
Imperative (Imperativ) Irregular
The imperative uses the du, ihr, and Sie forms of command; the informal du form drops the -st of the present for many strong verbs, and separable-prefix verbs place the prefix at the end.
Mach bitte schnell, der Zug fährt gleich ab.
| Pronoun | German |
|---|---|
| du | komm vorwärts |
| ihr | kommt vorwärts |